Archive for February, 2018

With the start of March the Equinox and Spring move near, though with the weather here still seems like spring has already arrived. The name of March is drawn from the Roman month Martius which in turn gains its name from Mars, the Roman god of war (and more a soldier than a warrior as opposed to his Greek counterpart Ares).

The theme for March is the military and things martial. As usual, if there is anything in particular you would like to see let me know. I will try to do something, spell or item, for the Equinox as well.

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The Girl with Ghost Eyes is a fantasy set in the San Francisco Chinatown in the late 19th Century. It follows the troublesome situation Li-lin, daughter of a Daoist exorcist and practitioner of the Maoshan tradition quickly finds herself in.

The author handles the situation of the Chinese in the 19th century US with a light touch, weaving the cultural threads of Chinese tradition and the problems faced by the immigrants deftly, so they inform but never overwhelm the story. The magic and the spirit world play a major role in the story are fascinating and well drawn from Chinese myth and legend.

My only problem was that it was difficult for me to track what was happening in some of the action scenes, which are notoriously difficult to write, so it may be more me than the writing. But overall an enjoyable book and I look forward to reading more of the adventures of Li-lin and how she adapts to America and America to her.

The book is an excellent resource for anyone playing game set in a fantastic China (such as Feng Shui) or even a mythic version of Japan (such as Legend of the Five Rings), the description of the spirits and the magic of the Maoshan is quite evocative.

Note: The link in an affiliate link and this site would receive a small amount if you purchase using it.

The Shadowrunning continues with more games, including monthly the introductory games at Tyche’s Games (every first Sat, feel free to join us), and the occasional game as part of our Thursday night rotation. So hot on the heels of the last issue, there is a new issue of the Seattle Scream (#55, March 2074). The main news story, about ManaWave Technologies, is the endgame of three years or more of in-game encounters with Dr Shipson’s machinations. So happy to have her motives finally unveiled.

The NorCal, that I am a player in, is back in session and remains great fun and moving forward (latest report from that here) though we have just lost one of our players due to medical reason.

Now, be careful out there in the shadows my friends. The world is cruel and dangerous place.

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To understand what is going on here, you had best read the first PinkCat: Running in the Shade post, but short summary, this is a campaign report for our Shadowrun campaign set in NorCal through the filter of a cartoon made by one of the team members.

Episode Thirty-Four: Trapped

Guest Starring: Clawz, DoubleUp and Tora.

The group is meeting at a new restaurant, TechnoTaco, when the floor drops out and they find themselves in a maze. A crackly electronic voice says, “Now you must escape the Maze of Danger [tm]! Even with your skills you cannot escape the technomatic perfection of Maze of Danger [tm]!” Cue chases through corridors, crazy traps, wacky robot soldiers, references to various science fiction shows and movies until they finally break in and confront the technomancer behind it all. Once confronted, he apologizes and offers candy and soda and shows how all of the traps were really harmless (nerf spikes, colored mist and so on). He just wanted to test his haunted maze and wanted people to take it seriously.